Learn how to ask smart market research questions with expert tips and free templates. A must-read guide for surveys by U.S. businesses.
Why Market Research Questions Matter
If you own a business or are considering starting one, you’ve likely heard about market research questions. But what exactly are they? And how do you employ them so that you aren’t wasting your time, money or effort on the wrong things?
So, what does it all mean? In this post, we unpack it in plain language. We’ll cover:
- What is market research (and why is it important)
- Various kinds of market research surveys
- How to write great market research survey questions
- Many examples to use as is or modify
- Guidance on how to use the questions best
- How all this fit into a real business plan
By the end you’ll have a toolbox of great market research questions to ask and the know-how to use them.
What is a Market Survey (And Why It Works)
A market survey is a type of tool used in market research wherein the purpose is to gather information from a target audience or specific demographic. It’s a structured list of questions that helps businesses understand and learn:
- Customer needs
- Buying behavior
- Competitor preferences
- Brand awareness
Big brands will spend thousands on research firms, but with intelligent marketing survey questions for customers you can get results for a fraction of the cost.
What Is Market Information?
Before you start writing your first survey question, it’s good to understand what market information really is. Market information is the data, opinions and statistics you collect from your existing or potential customers that influence your businesses planning.
It includes:
- Buying behaviors
- Preferences
- Trends
- Competitor insights
- Product satisfaction levels
Collecting this kind of information in surveys can help us answer:
“What do people want and how can we deliver that better than our competitors?”
Different Types of Market Research Questions
Different types of questions to ask for market research are suitable for different kinds of surveys, depending on what you need. Here’s a breakdown:
| Type | What It Helps You Learn | Example Questions |
| Demographic | Who your customers are | What is your age range? |
| Behavioral | What they do | How often do you use X product? |
| Attitudinal | What they think or feel | What do you value most in this product? |
| Competitor | What other brands they like | Which brands have you tried before? |
| Product Feedback | What they like/dislike | Which features do you find most useful? |
By having all five, you’ll be able to gain a complete perspective of your target market.
Research Methods in Business Administration
If you’re doing this for a business plan, MBA project, or just to make an important decision, your work fits into research methods in business administration.
Common methods include:
- Surveys (quantitative)
- Interviews/focus groups (qualitative)
- Observation
- Secondary data analysis
Surveys are one of the quickest ways to gather scalable, actionable data for planning and forecasting.
Good Market Research Questions: What to Ask & Why?
For reference, here are some great survey questions for market research organized by category:
Target Market Survey Questions
- What problem does this product address?
- Where do you usually buy similar items?
- How did you hear about our brand?
These are the first question a marketing researcher should ask to make you understand where and how to target your audience.
New Product Survey Questions
- Do you like this product?
- How much would you be expected to pay for it?
- What are your concerns, if any, about this product?
Use these when testing out new ideas before launch.
Marketing Survey Questions for Customers
- What was the marketing message that caught your attention?
- Why did you decide to purchase our product and not others?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that you will recommend us?
These can be helpful to sharpen your brand marketing and messaging.
Consumer Insight Questions
- What’s the most frustrating thing about this product?
- What features would you add?
- How does this compare to other similar products?
These help you uncover what is driving and unmet needs.
Market Research Questions for New Business
If you’re just starting out, your survey is probably about discovery and validation.
Ask questions like:
- What solutions do you use currently?
- What do you like/dislike about them?
- How about an option that would fix X?
These are the great market research questions for new business owners who want to find product-market fit and learn the needs of early adopters.
Advanced Market Research Questions Most Businesses Overlook
These question types are commonly left out but they bring high- value insights, particularly for SEO, competitive research and ad performance.
Search Behaviour & Discovery Questions
- What search terms did you use before finding this?
- What websites or apps have been most helpful to you in making a decision?
Why It Matters: Helps in tying product research to SEO and content marketing.
Competitor Comparison Questions
- What other brands did you consider before ours?
- So why did you pick that (or not pick) them?
Why It Matters: Use it to craft a competitive intelligence report and fine-tune positioning.
Ad Testing Survey Questions
- Which ad do you like the best?
- Which element in this ad catches your eye?
Why It Matters: Testing ads can improve performance in paid campaigns before you spend a lot of money.
How Is Strategic Market Research Used?
Strategic market research is about more than just getting data. It’s used to:
- Identify new revenue opportunities
- Refine marketing messages
- Prioritize product features
- Guide entry into new markets
These are the types of studies that support market opportunity assessments, growth planning and informed shifts in business direction rather than guesswork.
How to Write Good Survey Questions For Market Research
Writing a survey is easy. Writing a good one takes practice.
Do’s
- Be specific: Make sure you ask clear questions, no jargon.
- Use neutral language: Don’t use leading questions such as “Just how good is our product?”
- Keep it short: No one likes 30 minute surveys.
- Mix question types: Question types Include multiple choice, scales and open-ended questions.
Don’ts
- Don’t ask two questions at once (e.g., “What do you think about our price and quality?”)
- Don’t make every question mandatory
- No jargon or industry words
Want to go deeper? Follow this rule: every question should help guide you toward a business decision.
Market Research Survey Examples (By Business Goals)
Here are real examples of marketing survey questions you can use according to the specific business objectives.
Product Testing
- Which of its features do you find most helpful?
- Is there anything you would do to enhance the product?
- Would you be willing to pay a premium version?
Pricing Research
- What price seems too expensive?
- What price seems too cheap to trust?
- Are you willing to pay extra for more features?
Brand Awareness
- Are you familiar with our brand?
- What other brands do you know in this category?
- What’s a word you associate with us?
Marketing Message Testing
- Which of these tag lines do you like?
- Which ad would you click on?
- Does this message sound believable?
Business Planning
- Are you likely to purchase it over the next 3 months?
- How much would you be willing to pay for a product like this?
- What’s your biggest purchasing concern?
How to structure market research questionnaire for a product
Here’s a basic structure you can use for your next marketing survey for customers:
- Intro message
(This will take 3–5 minutes. Your feedback is valuable).
- Screening question
(e.g., “Did you buy [product category] during the last 6 months?)
- Demographic questions
(Age, location, income, etc.)
- Behavior and preferences
(Where they are spending, how they are buying, what they are consuming)
- Product questions
(Features, pain points, pricing)
- Brand questions
(Perception, comparison)
- Open feedback
(“What else should we know?”)
- Thank you message
(Optional: add a discount code or a giveaway)
What to Do With the Answers (Don’t Just Collect Them!)
After you collect the answers, don’t let them sit in a spreadsheet. Here’s what to do with those insights:
- Segment answers by demographic to see trends
- Utilise real people quotes in marketing content
- Tweak your product roadmap in correlation to feedback
- Refine your SEO approach according to what people search for
- Replace ad creatives with the test performing best.
- Benchmark results against competitors for a more detailed company analysis.
Use your findings like top brands do. Apple used feedback to inform every new iPhone generation. Tesla continuously updates its features according to real-world behavior and customer needs. Explore how the iPhone has evolved or Tesla is innovating to visualize this.
How to Research a Company for Sales
Market research surveys aren’t only for marketing or product teams. Sales reps can use them too.
For B2B, include questions like:
- Top 3 challenges for the company in the next quarter?
- How are you solving that today?
- Why would you change vendors?
Use this information for more targeted company analysis, personalization & value-based pitches.
How To Track Market Share With Survey?
Tools like SEMrush or Similarweb can help to estimate share online, your surveys can provide real world context.
Ask:
- What are some other brands of which you have sampled in this category?
- How frequently do you buy from them?
- What would make you switch?
The answers help you understand:
- Current market size
- Your place in the mind of the buyer
- Opportunities to increase market share
This combines qualitative understanding with digital information for a complete view.
Conclusion: Ask Smart, Grow Smarter
The best market research questions can be a huge benefit to your business:
- Launch better products
- Find the right audience
- Outperform your competitors
- Save money on marketing
Starting from making a new product survey to creating a marketing questionnaire for customers, this guide has you covered.
Next step? Choose 10–15 questions from the lists above, drop them into a tool such as Google Forms or Typeform, and start gathering insights today.
FAQs:
Q: What is the first question a marketing researcher should ask?
Ans: If with this research I had to make a business decision, what would that be.
Q: How can a marketing survey you posted on facebook help you business?
Ans: Running a marketing survey on Facebook is one of the cheapest, most effective ways to get real customer data. It allows you to:
- Get to your current audience fast
- Test product ideas or marketing messages with a select segment
- Gather quick feedback
- Increase engagement
Q: What are the examples of market research questions to ask your target market?
Ans: Questions about unmet needs, current solutions, price points and where customers currently shop.
Q: What are the 7 basic questions in market research?
Ans:
- Who is the customer?
- What do they want?
- How do they buy?
- How much will they pay?
- Who are the competitors?
- Where do they shop or search?
- What makes them switch brands?
